You know what grinds my gears?

[naz]

[quote name='Bellis' post='1754745' date='Apr 14 2009, 14.55']I didn't ask "who's this", but I just kept talking until it became clear who it was, which felt equally awkward.[/quote]

Well, there's a big difference between "Who's this?" and "Who am I speaking with?" or "Hi, this is ____. Who am I speaking with?" I imagine there's still room for polite discourse in the modern world, as Bellis has illustrated. :)

[seastarr]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1754787' date='Apr 14 2009, 12.18']Yes. I'm all for people getting exercise and not burning fumes. Just please show some effort to stay out of the middle of the road. I don't understand why they feel the need to go right down the middle like they are an automobile.[/quote]

As a cycling commuter I feel I must explain: I need you to [i]see[/i] me when I need to make a left hand turn, so that you don't run over me with your ton of steel. My bike weighs only 20 lbs. and that styrofoam protecting my head only goes so far. The another reason is to avoid those hazardous doors that open randomly from parked cars along the roadside and have the potential to send me flying beneath the wheels of oncoming traffic. If you are seeing the cyclists, this is a good thing. It's when you aren't seeing them that there are problems. Imagine how ruined your day would be if you squashed someone.

Suck it up and share the road. Or vote for tax initiatives for separate bicycle highways. Or get behind the handlebars and see where in the road you want to ride. Believe me, it isn't tucked up against the right hand curb/parked cars where no one can see you. Riding more to the left increases your visibility and thus increases your chances of not being hit when you are a cyclist. This is road safety rule number one!

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

[quote name='serMountainGoat' post='1754373' date='Apr 14 2009, 09.20']A faulty clutch?[/quote]

or failure to push it in all the way because you are half asleep :blush:

[Lord of Oop North]

I believe he is talking about the Cyclists who are not sharing the road with other vehicles. It goes both ways, you know. I have no problem with cyclists riding on the roads, but when they are [i]totally blocking traffic[/i], it gets a little ridiculous. A bicycle is not a car and will never be a car. You can't just ride in the middle of the road, because then vehicles can't get around you without barreling into oncoming traffic and committing suicide. Sure, making left turns is fine, but there are cyclists who ride in the middle of the road [i]at all times[/i]. Those are the pricks whom we are speaking of. It's the same situation as the guy who drives 80 km / h on the 100 km / h freeway. It's just dumb.

[seastarr]

[quote name='Lord of Oop North' post='1754870' date='Apr 14 2009, 12.56']I believe he is talking about the Cyclists who are not sharing the road with other vehicles. It goes both ways, you know. I have no problem with cyclists riding on the roads, but when they are [i]totally blocking traffic[/i], it gets a little ridiculous. A bicycle is not a car and will never be a car. You can't just ride in the middle of the road, because then vehicles can't get around you without barreling into oncoming traffic. Sure, making left turns is fine, but there are cyclists who ride in the middle of the road [i]at all times[/i]. Those are the pricks whom we are speaking of.[/quote]


Oh, yes...I know them. They are usually wearing colorful spandex, yes? $5000 road bike? And they travel in packs on the weekend? Feel free to run them over. Just avoid me: I'm traveling the road around 7am, wearing normal clothes and a messenger bag, riding a junker. Going lots faster than anyone in their racing gear. You probably won't mind driving behind me. :P

[Kouran]

What grinds my gears are people without common courtesy. If I say "excuse me ma'am" you bloody well say "pardon me sir" unless you are bottom of the pond scum that can’t even communicate to another human being on an intelligible level.

[Arbor Gold]

[quote name='Kouran' post='1754886' date='Apr 14 2009, 13.07']What grinds my gears are people without common courtesy. If I say "excuse me ma'am" you bloody well say "pardon me sir" unless you are bottom of the pond scum that can’t even communicate to another human being on an intelligible level.[/quote]
Where are you, 1865?

I guess the only thing I have to rant about today is people who merge onto freeways at 30 mph. Not only is it incredibly stupid, but it's pretty damn dangerous.

[Ocean of Notions]

At the moment, what's pissing me off about people in general:

- people who can't drive/don't seem to know the laws of traffic
- people who don't wipe down the machines after they use them at the gym. [b]You people are rude and disgusting![/b]

[Lord of Oop North]

People who curl in the squat rack.

[ldygrffn]

that group of [i]very[/i] young people who sit in the back of my [u]college[/u] genetics lecture and talk incessantly about everything except biology. and not in whispers, either.

or maybe it's my otherwise very awesome professor who does not tell them to shut up.

[S John]

[quote name='Lord of Oop North' post='1754980' date='Apr 14 2009, 17.15']People who curl in the squat rack.[/quote]

Yea, I hate n00bs when I'm gettin my swell on at the gym.

[Kouran]

[quote name='Arbor Gold' post='1754907' date='Apr 14 2009, 15.28']Where are you, 1865?

I guess the only thing I have to rant about today is people who merge onto freeways at 30 mph. Not only is it incredibly stupid, but it's pretty damn dangerous.[/quote]


Just becuase it is old fashioned doesnt mean it's wrong.

When I was growing up if I didnt say "yes sir" to my father or "yes ma'am" to my mother I was gonna get smacked, and damn well warrant it. People arnt polite anymore becuase they didnt get taught how to be polite by their parents. if you cant respect another person enough to treat them as they ought to be treated your nothing more than a animal thats house broken. /soapbox

Note: in no way am I casting stones at anyone on the board, the you and your are general people.

[Nichole]

[quote name='Kouran' post='1755048' date='Apr 14 2009, 16.56']Just becuase it is old fashioned doesnt mean it's wrong.

When I was growing up if I didnt say "yes sir" to my father or "yes ma'am" to my mother I was gonna get smacked, and damn well warrant it. People arnt polite anymore becuase they didnt get taught how to be polite by their parents. if you cant respect another person enough to treat them as they ought to be treated your nothing more than a animal thats house broken. /soapbox

Note: in no way am I casting stones at anyone on the board, the you and your are general people.[/quote]
Where are you from? There are certain regions were this is just not really thought of. It is not as if my parents allowed me to be rude to them all the time, but I have never called them sir or ma'am. It is not something I think of, I'm not trying to be rude.

Oh, and do not call me ma'am.

I'll have to agree about the Lance Armstrong wannabes. They are the ones who will ride two or three riders abreast. Sorry, but "Share the Road" goes both ways. They are also the jerks who think every single motorist is out to kill them. Actually, I try to avoid hitting cyclists, so I don't appreciate it when they blow through stop sighns.

[Arbor Gold]

[quote name='Kouran' post='1755048' date='Apr 14 2009, 14.56']When I was growing up if I didnt say "yes sir" to my father or "yes ma'am" to my mother I was gonna get smacked, and damn well warrant it. People arnt polite anymore becuase they didnt get taught how to be polite by their parents. if you cant respect another person enough to treat them as they ought to be treated your nothing more than a animal thats house broken. /soapbox[/quote]
Using "sir" and "ma'am" is not an indication of politeness, at least not where I'm from. If someone said "excuse me ma'am" to me, the thought would[i] never occur[/i] to me to respond with a "pardon me, sir". However, upon further reflection I will say that I'm quite enjoying the mental image, cowboy hat and billowing petticoats included. ;) It is rather charming, in a way.

[buy one get one free]

piss poor customer service is what irks me lately. Especially restaurant service....especially fast food restaurant service. You would think with the economy the way it is, hiring managers could choose to be a bit pickier with the labor? Maybe not. I dunno. And I don't want my ass kissed. Just a fucking pleasant "thank you". Or eye contact. Is that too much to ask for??

[Kouran]

[quote name='Nichole' post='1755078' date='Apr 14 2009, 17.13']Where are you from? There are certain regions were this is just not really thought of. It is not as if my parents allowed me to be rude to them all the time, but I have never called them sir or ma'am. It is not something I think of, I'm not trying to be rude.

Oh, and do not call me ma'am.

I'll have to agree about the Lance Armstrong wannabes. They are the ones who will ride two or three riders abreast. Sorry, but "Share the Road" goes both ways. They are also the jerks who think every single motorist is out to kill them. Actually, I try to avoid hitting cyclists, so I don't appreciate it when they blow through stop sighns.[/quote]


Arkansas. I guess around here when I was growing up we did things a bit old school. I know if I ever had a family I would make sure that my kids were raised to be polite.

ED: Though I have had a few ladies turn around and yell at me for calling them ma'am. I find that very depressing.

[IheartTesla]

What is the appropriate response when someone stares at your willy when you are taking a piss?

"I said good day sir" and slap him with a glove.

[Myshkin]

[quote name='Silverstar' post='1754244' date='Apr 14 2009, 02.06']I'm pretty sure that 'disorientated' is correct in the UK, at least. I never hear anyone say 'disoriented'.[/quote]
[quote name='mormont' post='1754268' date='Apr 14 2009, 03.07']Either is acceptable, actually. 'Disoriented' just sounds clumsy and odd to me, but that could be a cultural thing.[/quote]
[quote name='Isis' post='1754319' date='Apr 14 2009, 04.57']What? Does everyone on the board live in the US then? If I spell colour with a 'u' does that mean I can't spell and need to 'FFS, get it right' as well?[/quote]
Sergio got to it first, but to repeat; "Disorientated" is the past tense of the verb "disorientate", meaning it is not synonymous with "disoriented". To disorientate is the act of causing someone to become disoriented; it is not the act of becoming disoriented. Used properly ("I disorientated her") I don't have a problem with it; used incorrectly ("I was disorientated") I do have a problem with. Only recently, through common usage, have people begun to believe that the two words are synonymous.

[quote name='Eponine' post='1754580' date='Apr 14 2009, 09.37']Although that does remind me, I absolutely hate when people (my mother) send me political or religious forwards, especially when they're trying to convince people that Bush left an absolutely freaking awesome legacy that the Demoncrats are now trying to suppress. In fairness, I consider all forwards to be worthless propaganda no matter which "side" they're from, although I've never gotten any liberal forwards.[/quote]
My step-dad sends me this crap all the time.

[Shryke]

What grinds my gears?

- Pedestrians in Montreal
- Drivers in Montreal
- driving in general in Montreal
- parking in Montreal

Really, Quebec in general. Fucking province has to do everything different, even when "different" means "stupider". Whoever designed Montreal's traffic system deserves to be raped 24-hours a day by steel pinecones.

[delete this account pls]

When I'm buying a round of drinks, and someone says they want a 'beer', with no further explanation. Like I'm meant to guess what sort of beer, whether they want a pint, or a schooner, or a middy, or a bottle, or a can. Just for that, they get lite beer in the smallest damn cup the pub has available.